James Kirkup is The Telegraph's Executive Editor (Politics). He was previously the Telegraph's Political Editor and has worked at Westminster since 2001.

Francis Maude backs BP over Mexican Gulf oil spill

On BBC 2's Daily Politics, Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, has just been rather nicer about BP.

He said:

"They are doing the best they can."

And:

"This is a company of not just British importance but importance all over the world."

On the question of BP's plunging share price, harming many British pension funds and small investors, Mr Maude noted there are "not just British pensions but American pensions" with major holdings in BP.

Still, Mr Maude, like Labour's Yvette Cooper flannelled when asked to support Mr Obama's claim that the leak was comparable to the September 11 attacks.

That prompted the BBC's Andrew Neil to blow a mini-vuvuzela at the pair — a novel approach to political interviewing, to say the least.